You can always expect any of Neil Warnock’s teams to be big and physical and to get at their opponents, and Cardiff will not be any different and will make life hard for the Arsenal players. This will certainly be a big test to see if Emery’s pressing tactics and ‘playing out from the back’ will work against these sort of teams.
And Emery was quite clear in the pre-match conference that he will continue. He said: “We want to do the high pressing against the opposition. Then after this game (West Ham) I analysed it with the players. We started the match well but then we lost the control for moments in the game. Then we finished the last 20 minutes really well.
“I am very, very happy firstly with the three points but then also how the team worked to win this match and how we finished the last few minutes. I want to continue that in the next match this Sunday against Cardiff, a different game, but just to continue our momentum.”
I do worry about Neil Warnock being given all the time in the world to come up with counter-tactics, especially as we haven’t mastered Emery’s instructions as yet. Jamie Redknapp thinks that Emery needs to be more flexible. He said: “Against Cardiff, it’s probably a game where, last year under Wenger, they would have gone there and lost. The away record towards the end of the season was disgraceful and they were spineless. Something Arsenal fans will demand is that the manager makes Arsenal difficult to beat away from home and if they decide to play out from the back and spilt the centre-backs away at Cardiff, the Cardiff fans will love that, the players will love it because they’ll press them in and stop them playing out.
“That’s where Cardiff can get some success against them, and I’ve said it before that you’ve got to have a game-plan when the team you’re playing against are going to put you under pressure, which Cardiff will. Long balls, long throws into the box and when you think about Arsenal over the last few years, it’s been their kryptonite.”
We are all expecting our games to get easier as our players adapt to EmeryBall, but could our opponents learn how to counter us before we can perfect it? We are certainly giving away to much ground to our opposing frwards at the moment. Maybe Torreira will help us fix that….
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Don’t under estimate Cardiff.In the epl,any team can beat/draw with any team ,big or small.
If Arsenal play like WHU ,they will be vulnerable to the counter punch.
Imho,WH’s buildup was too slow something like Arsenal during Wenger’s time.
As a result teams playing on the breakaway more often than not won against Wenger.
His record against the top teams is appalling. Just imagine losing to BM 5-1 twice.
If Emery wants to make Arsenal a top team he shd look into his tactics.He may have won the Europa 3 times but the epl is a different proposition.
Hope he can prove me wrong.
Most top teams in EPL build their attack from the back now, similar to EmeryBall
I like how Emery enforces it, because he would know which player cannot play with this pressing strategy
I think Emery can create another system that is more suitable to his current players, but I’d prefer if he keeps the current one, because it makes the game more interesting
It makes not one iota of
difference what plan you have.
Play from the back, the side,
up the middle it is all utter nonsense.
30% of the goals scored are luck.
30% are from bad defending.
25% from referee errors
Only 10 % are well constructed.
Only 5% are one single passage of play
initiated from the back.
Just boot the ball into the opposition 18 yd box
30 times per game and win the 2nd and 3rd ball.
If it is just about getting the ball into the opposition’s penalty box and win the 2nd/ 3rd balls, Arsenal should just play with direct long balls to a towering target man
We don’t need Emery or Guardiola to do that. Mourinho and his tall players should be enough to dominate the midfield and score from set pieces
Let’s play Wenger-Ball for old times sake
I like Wenger’s or Barcelona’s tiki taka, but we don’t have players that can execute that properly
Ask those who have been playing those kind of long balls into their opponents 18 yard box how much they have won in this era of good football.
Football is an art which we prepare for; it is not normal to just get into games and start ballooning balls into your opponent’s box and hoping on luck to smile on you. If you are a game of such style, then my humble advice to you is to get back to the days of Stoke city with Tony Plus.